The 'polluted monster' island that once tested biological weapons

As the site of anthrax biological weapons testing during World War II, Gruinard Island in Scotland was abandoned for decades.

Gruinard Island is about 2km long and can be reached by a short boat ride from the Ross-shire coast in the Inner Hebrides of western Scotland. In the 20th century, apart from a few sheep and occasional visitors, the island was uninhabited, making it an ideal location for Britain's first open-air biological weapons tests.

Gruinard Island (left) photographed at a safe distance from the Inner Hebrides, western Scotland. (Photo: PaulR1800/Flickr).

When World War II broke out, Britain became increasingly concerned about the Nazis' use of chemical weapons. The Germans had pioneered the use of mustard gas in World War I and had developed a chemical industry that became the largest in the world.

Faced with this threat, scientists at Porton Down, the British military's top-secret laboratory, were tasked with learning more about chemical and biological weapons. Anthrax, an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis , particularly caught their attention. The disease is common in livestock and wild animals, but can also infect humans.

When inhaled, eaten, or touched, anthrax germs quickly cause a high fever, chills, cough, difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, increased sweating, and extreme fatigue. This dangerous disease can easily cause death if not treated properly.

By 1942, Britain had learned enough about anthrax in the lab to move on to real-world experiments. Gruinard Island, located in one of the most remote areas of England, became the ideal location.

In the first experiment, the team tied about 60 sheep at various distances around a barrel containing anthrax that was detonated with explosives. All of them died. In other experiments, bombers flew over the island to drop bombs containing anthrax, killing more animals. Scientists then returned to the island wearing HAZMAT suits to analyze the sheep, dissecting their bodies to better understand the effects of the disease.

The British government's official position was that the Gruinard Island experiment was purely defensive and intended to prepare for a possible biological attack on the country. However, the British did develop a number of theoretical plans for using the new weapon against real enemies. One of these was Operation Vegetarian , which involved dropping flaxseed cakes containing anthrax spores on German cattle fields to destroy the food supply, infecting thousands of people.

By April 1943, the Allies had stockpiled 5 million flaxseed cakes. However, 'cooler heads' prevailed and the Allies decided not to use any anthrax weapons during the war.

After the war, Gruinard Island became strictly off-limits, except for a group of scientists who tested the soil for signs of contamination. The result was that dormant anthrax spores could survive there for decades. Residents grew uneasy and impatient, describing the land as 'a contaminated monster.'

By the 1980s, realizing that the problem would not go away on its own, the British government launched a comprehensive cleanup project. The team, vaccinated against anthrax and wearing protective gear, returned to the island to disinfect the topsoil by spraying it with seawater and formaldehyde, using 50 liters of solution for every square meter of ^land .

In the summer of 1987, a flock of sheep was brought to Gruinard Island and showed no signs of disease. So the following year, the British Ministry of Defence officially declared the island 'safe'. Gruinard was then sold to the heirs of the original owners for £500. However, the island remains uninhabited.